Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority has approved new amendments to the regulations for detecting, proving, and adjudicating violations in the provisions of the Electricity Law. These amendments include increased penalties and updated fine assessment mechanisms after examining the nature and circumstances of each violation.

The authority emphasized in the amendments the importance of considering the severity of the violation and aggravating circumstances when determining penalties. The penalties include fines that range between SR5000 and SR100000 for those found guilty of tampering with electricity meter. The fine was set at SR5,000 if the breaker capacity is 100 amps or less, and it will raise to SR15,000 for breaker capacity between 100 and 150 amps. The fine for tampering with the electricity meter with a breaker capacity between 150 and 400 amps is SR50,000, and the fine would reach SR100,000 if the capacity is more than 400 amps.

The amendments stipulate that the fine for tampering with an electricity meter or any of its accessories shall be SR 50,000 if the violator does not own the account for the meter in question or is not an actual beneficiary of it. This amount may be exceeded if the consequences of the violation are proven to be serious or have been repeated more than twice, in accordance with criteria determined by the competent committee.

The authority noted that the amendments cover ten basic violations, most notably failure to implement the authority's directives regarding handling complaints, which carries a fine of SR20,000, and failure of the licensee to cooperate in providing the authority with the required information, which carries a fine of up to SR100,000.

The amendments also include a fine of SR2,000 for failure to comply with the statutory deadlines stipulated in the regulations relating to electrical services provided to consumers, and a further fine of SR50,000 for failure to comply with the authority's performance standards, which the licensee must adhere to. The amendments also included other violations, such as failure to comply with the regulatory framework for small-scale photovoltaic solar energy systems and failure to comply with the regulatory framework for electric vehicle charging activities, each of which carries a fine of SR3000.

The authority also amended the regulations for determining repair costs and assessing compensation for lost benefits to the utility or third parties due to tampering with the electricity meter. If the tampering results in a malfunction, interruption, or reduction in electricity consumption, the beneficiary shall be required to pay the value of the unrecorded consumption and the costs of repairing any damage to the meter or any of its accessories.

If the incident does not require meter replacement, the fixed value of repair costs and lost utility for residential consumption ranges between SR250 and SR1,150, depending on the breaker's amperage capacity, which ranges between 100 and 400. If the incident requires meter replacement, the fine ranges between SR1,150 and SR4,050, depending on the same capacity. For non-residential consumption, if meter replacement is required, the fine ranges from SR300 to SR2,050, while it ranges from SR1,150 to SR4,950 if the incident does not require meter replacement.

The amendments added a new article stipulating that in the event of a direct connection to the electricity grid without a meter, the beneficiary is required to pay the value of the unregistered consumption, in addition to the costs of repairing any damage to the grid or any of its accessories, depending on the diameter of the connecting cable. Fines in this case range from SR1,300 to SR17,000 in the residential sector, while they range from SR1,700 to SR33,000 in the non-residential sector.

The amendments also require the service provider to remove the violation and repair the resulting damage after completing documentation procedures. They also require the service provider to refer the violation to the authority to claim the repair costs and lost utility benefits, and to complete the necessary legal procedures in this regard.